


Never Let Her Go

by onlyhereforellick



Category: NCIS
Genre: F/M, ellick valentines, post-ep 17x15
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-15
Updated: 2020-02-15
Packaged: 2021-02-28 06:02:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,828
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22739278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/onlyhereforellick/pseuds/onlyhereforellick
Summary: Ellie deserved that fairytale movie ending he knew she’d always dreamed about, and damn him if he wasn’t fully prepared to give it to her.
Relationships: Ellie Bishop/Nick Torres
Comments: 10
Kudos: 79





	Never Let Her Go

**Author's Note:**

> post ep & our Ellick valentines GC challenged rolled into one 😉

_I need to get some rest, man. I- I’m not going to be any good to you guys like this. I’ll meet you back at the office._

_Good._

He’d finally listened to her, finally. Ellie thought she was going to pop a blood vessel from the stress of watching Nick fight through the pain. Him finally sitting out the last chase to the cabin was a welcome relief.

_Now if only he would text her back_ , Ellie thought as she walked off the elevator into the bullpen. Head buried in her phone staring blankly at her messages as if she could make a reply materialize from thin air. A heavy sigh escaped her lips as she rounded the cubicle corner to slip behind her desk and collect her bags. Tossing her phone down slightly more forceful than necessary, the sound rattled similarly to Ellie’s thoughts.

A small but commanding throat clear from the opposite end of the bullpen had her practically jumping out of her shoes. She hadn’t noticed another soul here at this time of night. Hand flying to her chest in a futile attempt to slow her now racing heart, Ellie looked up at the offender. _Nick_.

She stuttered over her words in surprise at seeing him still in the office. “I- what-, uh- I, I figured you’d be long gone by now,” she managed lamely.

From Nick’s position, leaning against the front of his desk black sweater stretched taught across his broad chest, baseball slowly turning in his hands occasionally tossed to the other, Ellie would never know the turmoil swarming in his head. His reply was a quick shrug of those shoulders she fantasized about a few too many times.

Ellie pressed on, after the past couple weeks she’d had, she was done with beating around the bush. “Soooo,” she started, dragging out the one syllable, “what are you still doing here then?”

Still without speaking, he pushed off the desk, but not before twisting slightly to replace the baseball in its dedicated spot. Straightening his frame, he started to make his way towards her at the same time Ellie tossed her bag over her shoulder and rounded her desk. Nick stopped barely a foot shy of her, glancing at Gibbs’ desk just to the right of them. A flash of a look she couldn’t quite describe passed over his features. When he shifted back to look her in the eye, she saw his mask firmly in place. She recognized it from just yesterday morning when he tried to brush off his pain and act like everything was back to normal.

The swagger in his voice was mixed with an underlying tone of genuine gratitude, “Well I wanted to thank you- in person.” Her breath caught in her throat, was he about to say something real? Nick continued, “You know, for whipping me into shape,” he finished with a wink, effectively deflating the small balloon of hope for him to finally shatter that glass barrier they had created between them. Instead Nick had deflected, his classic coping mechanism.

Ellie was over it though, so far done, she decided to echo her move from only a few days ago, in desperate hopes of him opening up to her. Reaching out with her left hand, she took hold of his hanging right hand. She’d have grabbed both to maybe convey the urgency she felt, but couldn’t since the other was tucked firmly in his pocket.

Nick’s eyes snapped to their joined hands and his mouth dropped open on it’s own accord. Ellie waited and with a gentle squeeze prompted Nick’s gaze to pop back up to meet her own. In a soft voice, Ellie tried to crack that glass wall, “Nick, you know I care about you...right?”

The warmth that shone in his eyes was palpable, the mask he loved to hide behind clearly removed. His sure voice that sent chills down her spine alleviated her concern, “I know, Ellie.”

For a charged moment they stood there—surrounded by hauntingly orange walls, neon tickers running, and a slight hum to the central heat as background noise—lost in each other’s eyes, in what was spoken and unspoken that passed between them. A shy smile formed on Ellie’s face and a blush crept up her neck to dot her cheeks when she realized she was still holding Nick’s hand. Quickly but gently she released her grip, and turned to make her way to the elevator with Nick following suit naturally.

Ellie’s racing heart had yet to slow. Nick insisted on leaving no personal space on the short walk to the elevator. Rounding the cubicle wall she felt the slight pressure of his hand on the small of her back as he allowed her to pass. It took everything in her to not jump a second time tonight. The simple gesture shouldn’t mean as much as it did to her, but after he’d hugged everyone but her this morning...well, any physical contact initiated by him sent her blood boiling.

Standing side by side staring up at the elevator climb down levels, Ellie decided it was time to widen this crack in their glass wall. With a light bump to his shoulder, Ellie directed her question to Nick without taking her eyes off the elevator doors, “Sushi tonight? To celebrate your first case back?”

She was met with silence. Silence that stretched out past the elevator doors sliding open, past Nick dipping his shoulder to let her enter first, past the doors sliding shut. By the time the elevator started moving it felt like she’d asked the question eons ago. Consequently, her blood pressure spiked, to say the least.

“You know what? Never mind. You, uh- I’m sure you, you know- have plans.” Ellie sensed she was rambling nervously, arms waving furiously, but it was like watching a train wreck, she just couldn’t stop. “Yeah, duh. You missed your date last night- yeah, her. You probably have plans- like a raincheck and all that. I- never mind, we can get sushi another night...” Ellie finally trailed off just in time for the elevator to open at the parking lot.

Darting out as fast as possible, she gestured wildly again in reference to who knew what while looking out to the few cars left, refusing to make eye contact. “Ok yeah, I’m gonna go..home. Have- have a good night, Nick.” And if he heard her voice crack on the word good, she’d deny it wholeheartedly.

Half a step in the opposite direction, her world jolted to a stop when a strong hand gripped her wrist. She felt the pressure of a slight tug directing her back to face Nick. Her eyes flew to his and the most delicate smile she’d ever seen on him graced her vision.

“Sushi sounds delicious, B.” A simple statement, but one that sent her heart soaring and stomach fluttering.

Suddenly flustered, all Ellie could muster was, “Oh. Oh- okay then.”

His thumb rubbed her palm briefly and she saw stars, Nick just continued to smile at her. “Let me stop at home real quick, and I’ll meet you at our regular place?”

Ellie would’ve agreed to practically anything at this point, which is how she found herself nodding wordlessly at where he used to be standing moments ago. A quick shake of her head to clear it and she managed to drag her heavy feet to the truck. Her head was foggy with so much physical contact that she constantly secretly craved. She might act closed off, crossed arms and tough vibes, but all she desperately wanted was to be wooed. It may sound silly and cheesy, yet she could care less. Her guilty pleasure of romcoms ruined her she postulated as she turned over the engine and pulled out to make the short drive to her favorite sushi joint. She’d always pined after the dramatic stunts guys pulled to win over the leading lady. Dozens of her favorite flowers, a candlelit romantic dinner for two, with an even more elaborate monologue professing his love for the girl. It was easy to desire these things after turning herself off from true love. Once Jake cheated, Qasim passed, and Clay murdered- Ellie had given up on that thing called love. So watching romcoms was how she coped- the sappier the better. A ridiculous storyline of a holiday mix up leading to soulmates, or the classic girl is with the wrong guy until the right guy wiggles his way in? Give it all to her. It was outlandish and never going to happen for her anyways, might as well enjoy it in movie form.

Pulling up to the tiny sushi place off 4th Street, something felt...off. Now while it wasn’t an incredibly popular dining spot, there was still usually a good size crowd on a Saturday night. Weirdly though, as Ellie looked around the empty parking lot, it seemed dead. She didn’t see Nick’s Jeep yet, so putting her truck in park she flipped down the visor to do a quick spot check. Pulling her hair out of the rushed ponytail from earlier, she ran her fingers to tease out her waves. With a sigh she noted her tired, almost red-rimmed eyes. She hadn’t had a good night’s sleep since the accident. Had she told anyone that? _Hell no_. They were worried enough about Nick, she didn’t need them worrying about her. Whipping out the spare mascara she kept in her glove box she hurriedly swiped on another layer to hopefully distract from the exhausted look to her eyes. It wasn’t enough- she still felt like she was lacking something, but it would have to do. _Besides_ , she thought, _this wasn’t a real date_. And on that more depressing line of thinking, she grabbed her clutch and heaved her now sluggish body out of the cabin.

She still didn’t see Nick’s Jeep, but decided it couldn’t hurt for her to grab them a table. Tugging on the door handle, she was met with the soft tinkling chime of the bell indicating to the wait staff a new patron had arrived. Immediately, Ellie’s instincts noted two things—there was no murmur of animated dinner conversations, and a low hum of a croning saxophone whispered from the speakers, a far divergence from the usual Top Hits station they liked to play. Closing the short gap to the hostess stand, she noted it was empty with not a soul in sight. Perplexed by the new atmosphere and lack of people, Ellie crossed the stand and made her way down the dimly lit hallway to the heart of the restaurant. A heavy velvety red curtain blocked the threshold, a new strange addition to the not normally elegant dining establishment. Furrowing her brow, Ellie stuck out an apprehensive hand and gradually pulled the curtain back with precise deliberation, unsure of what she might find at this point.

The moment the seating area came into view, Ellie’s heart dropped and her breath caught. Her eyes flitted around the perimeter of the room, candles of all heights dotted the border. They seemed to practically float in midair- placed atop a midnight black satin fabric draped over various objects— _probably the other tables and chairs_ , an errant thought crossed through her short circuited brain—it was as if she was staring at the Milky Way, hundreds of pin pricks of light across an inky black backdrop. It was intoxicating and as she took a calming breath in through her nose, Ellie’s senses were assaulted by the most wonderful perfume. It was light and rich at the same time, flowery and musky- as if she was standing in garden of a thousand blooming flowers in the middle of a Tuscan winery. It was then that she noticed the tiny bulbs of flower heads interspersed with the candles. A mix of white, fluffy peonies with wisps of baby’s breath and delicate crimson red spray roses adorned her own personal spiraled galaxy. Following the trail of warm flickering light, Ellie’s transfixed gaze landed on a singular table with a long deep red fabric placed right in the center of the restaurant, a large group of assorted pillar candles casting a rhythmic glow on the table and the man standing next to it—it was truly equivalent to the beating heart of the elegantly transformed atmosphere.

When her eyes landed on the trim figure with broad shoulders in a tailored dark charcoal suit that had the slightest sheen to perfectly accentuate the delectable body behind the exquisite fabric, Ellie’s pulse skyrocketed. It could be felt throbbing in her ears, while simultaneously digging how to expand her chest to bring in oxygen. The simple white button-down shirt with the top spot undone to expose the slightest of tanned chests shouldn’t do the things it did to her. Ellie’s eyes finally made their way to meet his, and what she saw there was more breathtaking than the entire set-up. Seconds from getting lost in Nick’s dark brown pools of molten chocolate, a panicking thought hit her—this was for his date. You know, the one that he’d lined up the other day- the one that _wasn’t_ her.

She started spiraling- fast, “Nick you didn’t have to- you didn’t need to cancel your date for this. We could’ve- we could have rain checked. Really, I’d understand- I know you probably had to cancel last night because of the case,” she was back to rambling and yet she couldn’t stop, “It’s fine if you want to call her back. I’ll get it, I can get sushi from the gas station—“ Ellie had begun to clumsily turn around, desperately trying to get out of this romantic atmosphere created for someone else. Struggling now with the weight of the velvet curtain, before she could pull it back a firm hand enveloped her free wrist. A quiet gasp left her parted lips and she squeezed her eyes shut to hold in the tears that threatened to spill.

Nick took a long look at the back of her, the golden waves highlighted in the cozy glow of candlelight rightly contrasted against the classic black sweater she wore tucked into the most heat-inducing blue denim jeans he’d ever seen. He might be in a custom suit, but Ellie was hands down the most gorgeous person in this room. He sent a gentle tug of pressure on her wrist in hopes of having her face him. Slowly she turned and Nick got to see that beautiful face of hers. Taking her other hand in his, Nick noticed her glassy eyes and cocked his head ever so slightly. _She didn’t realize_.

“Ellie,” he whispered just loud enough to be heard over the smooth jazz flooding through restaurant.

Her eyebrows lifted a few millimeters as her response.

Twisting his hand to maneuver his grip from her wrist to fold into her palm, he raised their joined hand till it was inches from his mouth. His warm breath causing goosebumps to break out across her fingers. “You know this is all for you, right? You were always my date, El.” Never breaking from her eyes- a glorious shade of golden emeralds in this light- Nick brushed a light kiss to her knuckles. He watched as a single tear broke free and inched its way down her cheek.

A swallow preceded her next words, “But- but how’d you know? You said...” and she trailed off unable to finish.

Nick lowered their hands as he took a small step forward to close the space between them. Releasing a hand he tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear and swiped his rough thumb along her jawbone, capturing the rogue tear. “I uh- had hoped.”

“Hoped what?” Ellie breathed out.

“Hoped you’d suggest sushi,” Nick offered with a sheepish smile, his eyes now casting downwards to their feet as he continued. “I booked out the entire restaurant the moment I heard about what happened while I was in a coma at the hospital.” Ellie’s mouth dropped open in surprise, but Nick wasn’t done. With a chuckle he went on, “What was fun was convincing them to let me book out the place the following night because the case ran over.”

Nick brought his eyes back up to Ellie to see more tears collecting. He was about to apologize, he’d wanted to make her happy- not cry, more when suddenly her hand left his to grasp the back of his neck and her lips crashed into his with the force of years of built up tension, desire, and pure content. His hand instinctively tangled itself in the hair at the nape of her neck, refusing to let her break away. He’d never let her go again.

Ellie deserved that fairytale movie ending he knew she’d always dreamed about, and damn him if he wasn’t fully prepared to give it to her.


End file.
